


Black and White

by chai_and_coffee



Series: Colors [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Melinda does an Appear, Melinda writes fanfic, Part 1?!?, Romance, Soulmate Color AU, angst ending, businessman!shiro, i guess?, scientist!allura, shallura - Freeform, slowburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16604468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chai_and_coffee/pseuds/chai_and_coffee
Summary: Takashi Shirogane has his life planned out. He's working towards a greater goal, towards something bigger than himself. Of course, then he has to go meet the head researcher of his lab, Dr. Allura Altea, who brings vibrant colors into his vision in her wake. He doesn't even want a soulmate to begin with.Allura Altea is what the dictionary defines as a hopeless romantic. She's determined to make the best use of her life with her intended, and still wants to be around after she finds out that Shiro doesn't really want her as a soulmate. She's determined that her bouncy personality and time will be the trick to melting his ice-cold heart.Six rules. Two soulmates.~Or, the Shallura Soulmate Color AU that no one really asked for.





	Black and White

You don’t get to the top by being kind. There is no universe in which that happens. Anything that anyone tells you is a lie. In order to get to the top, you have to be clever, proactive, and ready to risk it all. You can’t have attachments to material objects, those just weigh you down. People are meant to be used as stepping stones for you to get to your ultimate goal. Fail to do so, and you’re eaten by the sharks. Succeed, and you become one of the sharks. 

 

This was the philosophy that guided Takashi Shirogane down the path of his life. From the moment he was born, the cards hadn’t been in his favor. His father was an absent figure from his life, leaving the moment he was born, and his mother had passed away shortly after she gave birth. His custody got passed around and around from foster house to foster house, and although the parents loved the quiet child, they all agreed that the child himself was distant, cold. 

 

Takashi Shirogane realized at a very young age that he wasn’t going to get anywhere unless he worked for it. And he did. He powered through school, earning Valedictorian in high school, gained a full ride scholarship to Harvard, graduated with a double degree, a MBA and a PHD. Graduate school was a piece of cake, and by the time he was done with his schooling, his gray eyes were focused on his next goal. 

 

He didn’t have time to focus on the swirling bouts of gray clouding his vision. He knew that once you saw your soulmate, the world would burst into color, but he had no time or patience for that. For all he knew, his soulmate was a disappointment, an obstacle to his goal. He couldn’t afford to get distracted. 

 

Wall Street became his home, his territory, his conquest. He rose up through the ranks until the nation’s financial sector was under his thumb. He was a lone, solitary figure standing at the top, and he was completely okay with that. Happiness…he could not attain happiness just yet. He wasn’t really sure he could ever attain it. He could, however, attain bouts of pleasure, here and there. Pleasure came from seeing the look in his enemies’ eyes, pleasure came from closing deals and being successful, pleasure came from men and women who served solely for that reason. 

 

No, he hadn’t been faithful to his soulmate. He knew of people who waited to be with their soulmate, but he had never really been a large believer of that. 

 

This was all for the greater goal.

 

**o-o-o**

 

Shiro was a man of many tastes. His business exploits weren’t solely focused on the economy system of the United States, but he dabbled in various fields of math, science, and arts to invest in. He had recently funded a laboratory that was flourishing quite well, bringing in a lot of revenue. 

 

Of course, the press saw him as a hero. The public knew about Shiro’s wealth, but they also knew about his generous donations to countless organizations. They hailed him as a hero, but also as a constant spotlight. The Asian man’s rugged looks and flighty relationships were always a topic of conversation and publication. 

 

Tonight was no different. In order to boost up the publicity of the lab that he had just brought into existence, he threw a little gala on the bottom floor of the very lab. Everyone who worked for him was invited, and the room’s string quartet seemed to be heard five streets away. The gala was a hit, and Shiro met many, many faces. He met possible investors and charmed them appropriately, knowing that by the end of the night, their cheques would be stuffed in the box that decorated the edge of the room. 

 

This was all for a greater goal. He had to remind himself of that. 

 

He met the freshly-graduated graduate students, shaking hands, throwing smiles, here and there. He didn’t dance, although many people were. Tonight was not a night to get close and intimate, it was solely focused on the networking aspect. 

 

Events like this were tiring, thought. After a few hours, the faces and the names seemed to  blur into one another, and although any trace of his fatigue could not be seen on his face, Shiro desperately wanted to go home and sleep. But his smile was maintained, and he reached for another glass of scotch on the rocks. 

 

This was for the greater goal.

 

This gala was boring and mundane to him, because of how much he threw things like this. 

 

But for someone else in the room, this gala was a life-changer. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

Allura Altea wasn’t really sure what she was doing there. 

 

Sure, she was a biology major, and sure, she was fresh out of grad school with her shiny new title and her shiny new job, but things like this fancy gala were never supposed to be a part of her repertoire. 

 

She enjoyed dressing up, sure, sure, it was just the interaction that she didn’t like. As a biology major, and a researcher at that, the entire point was to get some solidarity and some seclusion. But her supervisor had insisted that she should go, and she wasn’t really one to create a bad relationship so early in on the job. 

 

But she wore a soft dress that was gray to her, that was slightly tulle. Her hair was down, a small braid decorating the crown of her hair, and her makeup was slightly noticeable, nothing too much. It wasn’t that she couldn’t dress up way to extravagant, it was just the fact that she didn’t want to. It seemed as though she was surrounded by business majors, and dear lord, she had no idea what she was doing there. 

 

She would rather have been at home, moping to her friends and sipping a mug of hot coffee. 

 

But whatever. She made it this far, put in this much (not a lot, if she was honest) effort, so she might as well make the best of the night. 

 

Her eyes raked around, looking for someone that she knew, or someone who might look the slightest bit friendly. 

 

She didn’t catch any eyes, though, everyone else seemed immersed in conversation with someone else. Oh well, she was more than happy to stand by the sweets and pick out ones that looked interesting to her. 

 

Her eyes caught on one person, and she tilted her head in confusion at herself as she wondered why. The man was taller, much taller than her, and stood at the edge of the room. Despite being in one of the corners, it seemed that the party revolved around him. His eyes were a dark gray, shoulders broad, and whatever he was saying seemed to captivate his listeners, who stared at him like he was an angel. 

 

She supposed he might be an angel, seeing the rugged jawline, and the colored scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose. 

 

Wait. 

 

Colored. 

 

The gray that swirled around in her vision previously was now replaced with bright and vibrant colors, beautiful ones that accentuated the spinning chandeliers above her, some hurting her eyes, some so mesmerizing that she found it hard to look away. Her eyes were round, wide with delight. 

 

And as she grew accustomed to the color that pervaded her view, her eyes strayed back to the man that had provoked this, waiting to see if he would look at her and have the same experience. 

 

Her soulmate didn’t look at her once during the gala. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

She went home, refusing to be put out by the lack of attention from her soulmate. He had seemed to be very busy, so she hadn’t bothered to go up to him and talk to him. Besides, she always had wanted the story of how she met her soulmate to be memorable, and meeting him in a stuffy gala wasn’t the most romantic of choices. 

 

She found it hard to keep the grin off her face. Her cheeks pained from the exertion, and she could practically feel the wrinkles gathering around the corners of her eyes, but she payed it no mind, she had found her soulmate!

 

Oh, and what a handsome soulmate he was, too. He held his posture up firmly, his dark eyes alluring, and he expressed power by his simple stance. She could also see what the newspapers were talking about when they talked about his gentle composure. 

 

She made it home, slipped her feet out of the high heels, and dug her feet into the threads of the carpet, relishing the delicious feeling of her feet relaxing. She giggled, the sound ringing from being suppressed all the way home, and flounced over to the couch, where she sank down, her cheeks ablaze. She looked down at her dress and saw the pink feathery strands of the tulle that covered her. She lovingly traced a shape on the fabric, taking in the colors of her apartment. 

 

She wondered when fate would conspire and bring them to interact, but for right now, she was happy. She had an excellent job, a wonderful life, and she had found her soulmate. Things were right. 

 

And as she reluctantly peeled off her clothes and sank down into the blue blankets of the bed, she went to sleep with a smile on her face, her thoughts occupied by her soulmate illuminated by the twinkling lights of the room. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

Color made her job so much more easier. She could see the blue, loopy thread that decorates the area right above the breast pocket on her lab coat, that spelled out, “Dr. Allura Altea”. She enjoyed the little cubicle that she sat in to type out her lab reports, her multicolored pens and post-it notes that added splashes of color here and there. She also had a little succulent sitting in the corner that she pouted to when the words aren’t flowing from her fingers onto the page. 

 

It also made recording things from a microscope that much easier. In grad school, she only could use electron microscopes, because the inanimate object that she was studying would show up in grayscale and would not be a hindrance to her reports. But now that she was able to see color, she was able to work with actual specimen, seeing the brightly tinged colors of the stain and the organelles. 

 

She sat in her cubicle, frantically scribbling her hypotheses down onto the paper, her hands stained with the ink of her pen. She payed it no mind and relished in the feeling of an excellent experiment coming together. She took her position as head researcher very seriously, and was working on establishing a good relationship with her coworkers and her surroundings. 

 

Shiro, on the other hand, had come to the building to see how things were progressing. He hadn’t anticipated that the lab would cost so much, so much for the microscopes and all the technology. He was happy to supply the materials, but of course, with such generosity, he needed to ensure that it was being used well. 

 

He was meeting Coran, an old friend and supervisor of the lab. He completely trusted Coran, he just didn’t like the fact that Coran was offering jobs to freshly graduated grad students. From personal experience, he knew that grad students could sometimes be arrogant. 

 

He stalked inside, neatly dressed. He ran his hand down his chest to flatten down his tie as he stood in the elevator. The doors dinged open, to the seventh floor. The employee’s cubicles were all around, and Coran’s office decorated the back corner. Next to the door, there was a cubicle on his immediate right. He turned to the woman, expecting her to look up. 

 

She didn’t. She kept writing. 

 

He cleared his throat to gain her attention. Did she not hear the doors ding with his arrival?

 

She didn’t look up. 

 

“Ahem.” He announced frostily. “If I could spare your attention.” 

 

The woman looked up, bewildered. Her cheeks were reddened in the flush of her writing, and her hands were stained with glittery purple pen. Her eyes glinted with recognition, and he swore he saw her smile in anticipation. Who was this woman?

 

“So sorry.” She murmured, and he didn’t miss the way her cheeks pinkened even more. With a startled blink, he realized that his world was now completely drenched in color. Not now, Shiro. The sparkle of her pens became more apparent, the blue irises glimmered at him. He blinked the surprise away and looked at her with a focused glare. “I need to see Coran. It’s a good thing I  came, otherwise we’d be letting children play with the pens and making a mess everywhere.” he said with a slight sneer. 

 

He didn’t miss the way she recoiled slightly as if she had been slapped and looked down at her hands, embarrassed at the ink lining her fingers. 

 

“He’s in his office. He’s probably just—gotten off the call. I’m—um, going to go to lunch now.” Allura said hastily, feeling the rush of shame rise to her face at the thought of being caught looking like a hot mess. 

 

Of course, it didn’t escape Shiro’s eye that she scrambled past him and headed directly to the bathroom, presumably to wash the ink off of her hands. He didn’t make any comment about seeing color, or anything of that sort. 

 

He finished up the meeting with Coran, never once discussing the young woman who sat at the front. When he finished, he paused for a moment to look down at her once more. She sat, hunched over her notebook, her hands devoid of anything sparkly, and refused to look up, even though she felt the weight of his gaze boring into her.

 

**o-o-o**

 

Allura felt terrible. Not only was her soulmate a complete asshole, he also didn’t see the colors. She had made a complete fool of herself in front of him. Not to mention, she looked like a stumbling idiot and dear god, she never wanted to go through that again. 

 

Which is why she wound up at her favorite bar, aggressively ranting to her friends. Romelle worked downtown, at a boutique that was super crazy but totally her. Lance worked as an IT consultant for a firm, and all three had gone to college together. 

 

Which meant that they were used to her ranting fits. 

 

“And—he’s an asshole!” Allura pouted as she rested her cheek against the bar, five tequila shots in. 

 

“Well, at least you never have to see him again.” Romelle said with a shrug, the very woman who didn’t really believe in soulmates. 

 

“Oh, honey, no. You have to see him again. You have to give him something back. He can’t just walk over you like that, and treat you like that, no matter how big and muscley and cute he looks.” Lance, ever the hopeful romantic, chimed in. 

 

Both friends hadn’t found their soulmates yet, and both Lance’s and Romelle’s viewpoints were entirely different. This of course made them the worst of friends and the best of friends, and more often than not, it left Allura stuck in the middle. 

 

The door chimed open with the bell to announce someone’s presence, and Allura’s head immediately swiveled to see who it was. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to be arriving this late, but the bar had almost reached full capacity. 

 

Her eyes widened and she would have almost toppled over the bar had Lance not reached out and steadied her. 

 

“Woah, girl.” Lance chided as he righted his friend from falling off the barstool. 

 

“That’s him. That’s my soulmate.” Allura murmured as she turned once more and tracked him with her eyes. She watched as he met with a group of people clustered around the dartboard. 

 

“Oh, he’s a snack.” Romelle proclaimed. “How come ‘Lu always gets the hot guys?” she pouted, gently setting the glass of vodka back down onto the coaster. Lance, on the other hand was silent, transfixed by something else. 

 

“He’s wearing jeans. His ass looks yummy.” Allura murmured mournfully as she turned back to the bar and extended her shot glass out for another refill. She was lucky that she was slightly inebriated, so she couldn’t feel the weight of Shiro’s gaze on her back. He had seen her as soon as he had walked in, of course, but he had also taken note of the guy holding her. 

 

That hadn’t settled well with him. If anything, it made something flare up in him that wasn’t really known. 

 

“You’re lost somewhere.” Pidge mumbled. “Matt’s this close to beating you, and it looks like you aren’t even caring.” They said, and tilted their head questioningly. “What’s got your mind occupied? You’re usually good about leaving work stuff at the door.”

 

“It’s not work.” He grumbled. “I met my soulmate.” 

 

Immediately, Matt paused mid-throw, Keith spit out his water, and Pidge simply grinned. Shiro huffed as he was shoved into a booth, three gleaming faces around him. 

 

“What do you want to know?” He grumbled, knowing full well that his meddling friends would not let it go unless he told them. 

 

“Who is she?” Pidge asked first. 

 

“Corner. White hair.” He heard a little gasp from Keith, but he figured that was because of who Shiro’s soulmate was. 

 

“She’s pretty.” Matt grinned. “So, how did you two meet? What did you say to her?”

 

Shiro recounted the story, and he expected the looks of dismay on their faces. He hadn’t acted the best, but they knew him and his little quirks. It was to be expected. Too bad she didn’t know that. 

 

“Are you seriously telling me that you found your soulmate and then called her a child for being passionate about her craft and being so absorbed in whatever that she was doing that she couldn’t attend to your whiny ass?” Matt snapped after he had finished his take. 

 

Shiro had the good graces to sulk. “Well, when you put it like that..”

 

“Enough. Don’t be an asshole, Shiro. Go talk to her.” Keith urged. 

 

“Absolutely not. I don’t need a soulmate right now, and I most definitely don’t want to talk to her after what I said.” He huffed and glared into his drink. His friends knew exactly why he didn’t want a soulmate, so why were they even asking? The little huff was the signal to drop the conversation, and luckily Pidge got the hint, changing the conversation about the latest news. 

 

Shiro should have paid attention, but his eyes followed her form, watching her pay her tab and be walked out. Only one of her friends, a male remained, and he sat there drinking at the bar and scrolling on his phone. 

 

The rest of the night passed by in a blur. Keith excused himself to go get another drink, and didn’t come back from the bar for another twenty minutes. It was nearly twelve that Shiro was able to go out and suck lungfuls of clean air before beginning his journey home. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

They didn’t meet again on purpose. Actually, had it not been for this meeting, they wouldn’t have met at all. And they certainly wouldn’t have come if they knew that the other was coming. 

 

A few days passed since their encounter at the office and the bar. Shiro made no more visits to the laboratory, secure in the fact that it was being well-run, and Allura had switched with a co-worker so she didn’t have to sit by the door. 

 

Despite their subversive methods to not see each other anymore, it ended up in them…seeing each other once more. 

 

For Allura, it was a text from Lance with an address that stated a meeting time and that it was urgent. 

 

For Shiro, it was an in-person visit from his brother and a stern reminder not to miss this meeting. 

 

Nevertheless, the two wandered into the coffee shop (Shiro trailing slightly behind Allura with his eyes on the stocks displayed on his phone) and still didn’t realize it until they sank into seats right next to each other and right across from Lance and Keith. 

 

“—you—“ Shiro said with surprise, eyes widening as he took her in, right next to him. 

 

Allura barely remembered what Romelle had said to her about having a backbone, but followed her friend’s words and stiffened up. “Me.” She said coldly, before turning her full attention to the boys in front of her. 

 

Keith and Lance’s announcement was a surprise, but a good one. The boys announced that they were soulmates, that they had seen each other that day in the bar, and that both Allura and Shiro were the first ones to know. 

 

Shiro and Allura were generally warm towards the news, congratulating the boys with warm hugs and kisses. Keith tried to bring up if there was anything that either of them wanted to say, but it was met with a cold glare from both of them, ensuring that the boy quickly shut his trap. 

 

The meeting ultimately ended when Shiro announced his departure because of another meeting, Allura quickly following on his heels and stating that she had to get back to the lab. Keith and Lance didn’t miss the way that Shiro held the door open for her, but they didn’t miss the way Allura pretended that he didn’t even exist, either. 

 

But fate seemed to run its course and eventually the two ended up meeting again. The attraction to one another was palpable, but both seemed intent on acting as if nothing was there in the first place. It didn’t take a genius to see the way Shiro’s jaw clenched when he saw Allura wearing a tight pencil skirt and blue blouse, and it wasn’t hard to miss Allura eyeing Shiro’s tie, as if she wanted to wrap her hand around the strip of fabric and yank him to her.

 

But the meeting continued with the others obliviously pretending they didn’t see the tension between the CEO and the head scientist. Coran was the placating force for Allura, she definitely didn’t want to overreact in front of him. 

 

But no meeting between them was without flaws. All throughout the meeting, Allura expressed discontent with the measures that Shiro proposed, and at any chance of her speaking, he defeated her calls for action. 

 

Nevertheless, the tension was running high in the room. 

 

“Miss Altea, if you could stay behind.” Shiro’s voice was level, but it was clear to see that the statement was less of a request and more of a command. The others filtered out, leaving a short, fuming woman sitting down. He watched over the cup of his coffee as she neatly swept the papers into an orderly pile. 

 

“What is your problem?” He bit out, barely managing to contain his anger. The meeting had been incredibly frustrating due to her antics. Anything that he proposed for the new lab to research had been shot down by her. 

 

“I don’t have a problem. I’m the head researcher of your lab, and I know the capabilities of my team.” She said, standing up, and the comment would have passed off as a viable excuse had it not been for the clench of her jaw in anger.  “If anything, I should be asking what your problem is.”

 

“I don’t have a problem.”

 

“You obviously do, you barely let me speak and anything that was said you immediately shut down.”

 

“I don’t have a problem. I’m the owner of the lab, and I know the capabilities of my employees. Your comments are fruitless.” 

 

He saw how that comment struck a nerve with her. “You,” She said, making her way over to him. “You are saying that my comments, which I specifically constructed with a holistic approach, detailed with evidence and personal experience, were fruitless?” She asked. 

 

The situation amused him, with her short frame much smaller than his, and her clear defiance in her crystal blue eyes, and that funny little pose with her hands on her hips, and damn it if it wasn’t a little hot. 

 

“Yes.” He replied, eyes glimmering with something that was unreadable to her. 

 

Her voice was measured as she reached up and wrapped his tie in her fist like she had been longing to all meeting, and asked again. “You think my comments were stupid and ineffective?”

 

“I think they were atrocious and uncalled for.”

 

And maybe it was the precise wording or the way his hand found its way to her waist, but her lips were on his and their tongues clashed, the kiss hot and heated. He drew her close to his chest and tried not to think about the way their mouths slotted together so perfectly, of how soft her hair felt when a fistful of it was in his hands…none of that. 

 

When they broke apart, Shiro was more than pleased to see the ravished beauty in front of him, lips swollen with their passion and glistening ruby, hair tousled. 

They panted together for a moment, before she glared and leaned up, her thumb rubbing across his lips. He fought the urge to press a soft kiss to the pad of her thumb. 

 

“There’s lipstick on you.” She explained, her strokes soft despite the hardness in her voice. 

 

“Leave it. Pink’s a good color on me.”

 

“So you  _ can _ see color.” The accusatory glare was now back. 

 

“Sure I can. Saw it with your mess of purple ink on your hands.” 

 

“You’re an asshole.” She muttered, pushing him back. She was much stronger than she looked, and he was a bit surprised that he staggered back a few steps. Looked like the sweet, saintly scientist that he had seen that day had some secrets. 

 

“Everyone calls me that, so you’re going to have to be a little more specific on why exactly I’m an ass.”

 

“No, no. You’re an asshole. Don’t call yourself an ass, it’s an insult to the poor animal. But seriously? I dreamed of meeting my soulmate, in so many different ways. And here I find out that you saw the colors, but still proceeded to be a jerk!” 

 

He sighed and folded his hands behind his back. “There is still too much for me to do before I would even want a soulmate.”

 

“You don’t—want a soulmate?” The icy exterior faded, and a look of pure terror took place on her face. “What the hell are you doing that’s so important that you can’t do that and have a partner to help you at the same time?”

 

“That’s the thing, I don’t want any help. I need to get up to my dreams alone. I need to achieve it by myself.” 

 

Allura was taken by surprise. She understood that. Hell, she respected that. She may have not known what exactly was driving him, but she had been ambitious enough to know that some dreams had to be achieved in a certain way. She also knew that trying to protest against him trying to achieve his dreams would only be selfish on her part. Besides, he hadn’t wanted a soulmate anyways. She could figure it out, right? If she really wanted to settle down with someone, she was sure that she could find someone else in the same situation. 

 

She looked at Shiro for a while, her eyes dark and unreadable. She knew that there was no convincing him. And really, she wasn’t going to try. 

 

He watched as emotions flitted across her face until her mouth opened and she let out a soft little exhale. “That makes sense.” She murmured softly. “Alright. I better get going.”

 

“What, you’re going to walk away just like that?” Shiro asked, surprised. He knew that he turned her away, but damn if he hadn’t anticipated some resistance…

 

“I mean, what else is there to do? You have something to prove, by yourself. A soulmate gets in the way of that. I’m not going to stand between you and your dreams, Shiro. That’s not how it works. I can see where I’m not needed. You need to do this alone, for some type of…closure. I’m not making sense.” She said calmly as she gathered her things. 

 

“It’s not permanent.” He whispered. “Just until I get what I have to get.” 

 

She paused by the door, her expression soft and lingering. “Honey. You didn’t want a soulmate to begin with.”

 

She pushed open the glass door of the conference room with her back straight and her head held high. She wouldn’t cower, not his woman. 

 

 

**o-o-o**

 

He didn’t notice at first. It was hard to when you were running so many things at once, and he barely had time to go visit the lab. But still, it was hard to get her off of his mind. He recognized that she had stepped away from him, that she was granting him the freedom to achieve his goal, but after pondering on what had occurred, he registered the hurt on her face. She had pushed herself away, at her cost, and well…he wasn’t sure, but he was willing to try and acclimate to her while working towards his bigger picture. 

 

So, as a peace offering, he went to the lab a week later, holding two brown paper bags with lunch. He mentally rehearsed what he was going to say throughout the elevator ride, and confidently strode into the room where assorted cubicles lay around. 

 

He made his way to where he knew her cubicle to be, and blinked when he saw empty gray desks instead of pens and journals and a cactus. 

 

Scrubbed clean. There wasn’t anything that remained, not even stray marks on the table. 

 

He made his way to Coran, refusing to jump to conclusions right away. He knocked once on the door before hearing the call from inside that allowed him inside. He pushed open the door, poking his head in, and barely acknowledged the orange-mustachioed man with pleasantries. “Where’s Dr.Altea?” He asked. 

 

Coran looked up, a pencil dangling from his lips, and another pen hidden within his locks. “Huh?”

 

Shiro took a breath to quell the rising panic. “Dr.Altea. The head researcher. Do you know where she is?”

 

“Why, she resigned about a week ago. Said that she had to go. Didn’t really specify whether or not she was coming back, but based on the letter of resignation that she had given to me, I really don’t think that she is. Hold on, let me see why she left, she would have had to detail it on the letter…” He said as he dug for the sheet under several books. He finally located the creamy sheet and held it out for Shiro to take. 

 

Shiro scanned the document, and by the end of it all, there were only three words that he had gained. 

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

 

He groaned, letting out a sigh as he rubbed his palm over his face in a rough motion, before looking at Coran with a pleading expression. “Please tell me you have a number or an…an email or something I can contact her with.”

 

“I’m sorry, Shiro, but you know that legally, I’m not allowed to give out her contact information.”

 

Shiro left the building in a haze, so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize that it was raining outside. He felt the moisture permeating through the fabric of his designer suit and he wasn’t even upset. 

 

All he could think about was how hasty he had been in his decisions, how quickly he had pushed her away. 

 

He suddenly realized that the water that had been dripping down his back had abated, while the storms raged down all around him. All around him, like a little circle, water wasn’t dripping. He looked down and looked at his soulmate, who was glaring at him, and holding an umbrella.

 

“Do you have to be so damn tall? My arm hurts, you know. And didn’t you realize that it was raining? You’re going to catch a cold if you stay out in this weather.” She grumbled at him, her hand curled tightly around the wooden hook of her black umbrella. 

 

He blinked, in surprise before gently taking her umbrella and holding it over them. The second her hand was liberated, she placed her hands on her hips, just like how she had looked at him a week ago. 

 

“You resigned.” He said, his voice smooth.

 

“I did. We can’t be making a spectacle of ourselves if we argue every single meeting.”

 

“You could have told me.”

 

“You don’t even want a soulmate for the time being, so why bother? What I do right now is none of your business.”

 

He used his free hand to pinch his nose to ward off the oncoming headache. “I—“

 

“Save it. You’re going to say a whole bunch of crap that you don’t really mean, and me being the hopeless romantic that I am, will believe you, and you’ll throw away the umbrella and we’ll make out in the rain.” She said sarcastically. “Don’t get all twisted up. It’s come to my attention that you’re a sad, lonely man, and me being the ray of sunshine in your life, I’m going to make your world pop with color. Pun intended.” She grinned, and gently tugged his hand down from his nose. 

 

Her hand was small in the wide grasp of the prosthetic, but if she noticed the gray coloring or the colder touch, she didn’t comment on it. Instead, she fitted her hand neatly into his and marched like a woman on a mission. 

 

She led him to what he assumed was her home. Her nervousness of having him there betrayed her as soon as she led him into the apartment. It was a little smaller than what she imagined him to be used to, but she tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice as she barked at him to hang up his coat and take off his shoes. She directed him to the living room as she disappeared into the kitchen. 

 

When she returned with a glass of water, her mouth dropped open to see him completely at home on her couch. His arms were spread, grasping the back of the couch, and his tie was slightly skewed, as if he had loosened it. He looked at her with a lazy grin as she approached him, ever looking the part of the arrogant billionaire. 

 

“If you wanted to take me home on the first date, you could have just asked.” He said with a mischievous grin. 

 

She couldn’t help but snort. “We are not dating. I’m just a woman who works and makes sure a certain man doesn’t fall over from being a stupid idiot, and that man just so happens to be her soulmate.”

 

“Sounds like a lucky man.”

 

“Haha. So funny, I forgot to laugh.” She quipped back. 

 

He took the glass of water, looking around. “Your apartment is—“

 

“—what? Too small for your tastes?”

 

He flashed her a glare and a roll of his eyes. “I was going to say comfortable, sweetheart.”

 

“Don’t call me sweetheart. And thanks. Let me get a towel for your hair.” 

 

He watched as she stalked off, grumbling about a stupid idiot with a pink flush in her cheeks. When she came back, five minutes later, he noted that the flush had yet to recede. 

 

They sat in silence which was comfortable for Shiro and a bit awkward for Allura, seeing how she didn’t quite know how to react when there was a god-tier celebrity sitting on her couch. The reminder that her soulmate was a rich ass bastard and also didn’t want her soured her expression. 

 

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, seeing her pinched expression.

 

“You. Me. Us. What the hell am I doing with you?” She stated bluntly, and he recoiled sharply, wondering where the hell that question had come from.

 

“I mean, you’re the one who wanted to save me from being an idiot.” He pointed out. “Why don’t we….just…be friends? You can be your annoying self and come have lunch with me, or I’ll come have lunch with you, and we can go to each other’s gatherings and..so on? But it’s clearly platonic. Like—just friends.” He said simply, making small little hand gestures here and there to accentuate his point. 

 

She snickered and reached out, her hand gently pushing down his outstretched ones. “I’m not an audience for one of your numerous powerpoint presentations, Shiro, give the hand gestures a rest. I think friends is a good place. But, we need to set some rules.”

 

“What rules?”

 

“No jealousy.” She said simply, ticking off one of her fingers. “No interference in personal matters, no ‘we are soulmates’, no clinginess, and absolutely no sex. Oh, and no cuddling.” 

 

“No cuddling?! Oh, how will I live?” He asked sarcastically, with a roll of his eyes. “That sounds good. Shake on it?” He asked, his hand stretching out. 

 

And as if it were almost a movie, time almost stood still for the moments her hand slipped into his and they shook hands. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

“On second thought, cancel that meeting, something just came up. Yes, that will be all. Thanks.” Shiro said, his eyes on Allura who seemed to be very upset by the way she was tapping her foot. “What the hell are you doing here?”

 

“Look at the time, Shiro. It’s noon. You promised me lunch together. So here I am, wondering where the hell my lunch is, and wondering why I bothered to walk for ten minutes in the rain.” She snarked, and he had to hold back a snicker as he took in her drenched form. 

 

It had been a few days since they had made their pact, and Shiro wasn’t really regretting it. It was nice to have someone to talk to, and it was always fun to verbally spar with her here and there. She was a quite nice person, different from the rest of his friends. She listened when she had to, told him when he was being dumb. Things were going pretty well, suffice it to say.  He pretended to hate the pastel pink post-it notes that she left on the sides of his computer that were filled with inspirational quotes and jokes, but he read over them all the time. She always wrote a new one every week. This week’s one was a little doodle of a cactus in a pot, grinning at him. 

 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s in my fridge. Lemme just make a call.” He said as he leaned back in his chair. The glare she gave him was pretty scary, but he knew she wasn’t really upset at his calls by the way she flounced over to his fridge and dug out the meals that he had called for earlier in the day. She set up camp on the opposite side of his desk, happily munching away at her burrito while he dialed in on a conference call. 

 

“Yes. Yes, that sounds acceptable.” He said, while pointing at the corner of his chin to indicate that she had a little smudge of queso there. 

 

She only looked at him confused, and his repeated gestures were definitely not helping. With an inaudible groan, he reached and wiped away the trace with a napkin. He went back to the call without thinking twice about it, while the woman across from him blushed like crazy. 

 

It had been twenty minutes into the call when she tugged on her sleeve, pouting. He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she wanted, and fought to keep a chuckle down at the fact that she was upset at his insistent calling. ‘It’s important’ he mouthed, pointing at the phone that seemed to be melded to his ear. She simply pouted more and tapped the other burrito, which was a clear sign that she wanted him to eat. 

 

He had been on calls when she had swung by for lunch before, but he had always managed to cut it short and have a meal with her. It was actually one of the better parts of his day. He could consult her on a few things that he was unsure about, and she was always pretty happy to talk about her day. 

 

She’d come by, hungry as hell, he’d get her food, they’d eat, sometimes talk, and she’d leave and go back to work or home if she wanted to. She had secured another position as a researcher, and although it wasn’t nearly as prestigious as the one that she had had before, she was pretty happy that she still got to do what she loved. 

 

Today was throwing them off their rhythm, and judging by the crease between her brows, Allura was not quite happy with that development. 

 

She tugged on his sleeve once more, those blue eyes imploring him to take a break and eat, but he sighed and shook his head. This call was simply too important for him to cut short. She understood and wandered around his office, and with the distraction of her gone, he focused on the call once more. 

 

It was an hour later that the call finished, and he sighed when he got to put his phone down. “Allura? I’m done.” He had seen her pull out a book and start reading sometime during the half hour mark, but had lost sight of her afterwards. A small little snore answered him, and he curiously got up to investigate. There, on his couch, his friend was curled up, a book pressed to her chest and her hair splayed out onto the delicate features of her face. He snickered, grabbing a blanket and covering her small frame. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

“ _ Are we having lunch today _ ?” Shiro’s voice rang through the receiver. 

 

“No. I’m sick. Fuck off, leave me alone.” Allura coughed into her phone.

 

“ _ You probably got sick from the rain. Aren’t you the one who told me that I’d get sick? _ ” His voice was teasing, which meant that he was in a pretty good mood. 

 

“ ’S not nice to make fun of sick people. Leave me alone. I feel like I’m dying.”

 

“ _ Don’t be so overdramatic. You probably have a slight fever and a cold. Some rest should be good enough for you. _ ”

 

“Fine, then. Hang up so I can get that rest.” She huffed and hung up, despite her command telling him to. She tossed her phone onto the nightstand and coughed into her pillow, before closing her eyes. She heard her phone buzzing with the notification of an incoming call, but her eyes felt so heavy that she simply couldn’t muster up the energy to answer it. 

 

When she finally blinked her eyes open, a very-pissed off Shiro was looking down at her, arms crossed tightly. The slanting of the light from the window indicated that it was late afternoon, bordering on evening. She blinked a few times before she understood that Shiro was saying something. 

 

“What the hell, Allura? You can’t just sleep like that. You should have told me that you were going to bed. Do you understand how worried I was? You should have asked Romelle or Lance to come take care of you. You can’t just lie around sick all day. Have you even eaten? Have you taken any medication?” He ranted at her, his face tight. 

 

She felt a prick behind her eyes, which flooded her eyes. Although Shiro’s words weren’t harsh or rude, she sniffled back her tears. “You’re using your scary voice.” She mumbled. 

 

His face immediately softened, and he realized that sick Allura was quite different than normal Allura. “No, no, I was just worried.” He murmured in a soothing tone, the pad of his thumb catching the moisture before the tears spilled. That seemed to placate Allura, who opened her arms and looked at him expectantly, as if she were a little koala begging to be picked up. 

 

“I thought that we agreed no cuddling.” He said teasingly, flicking her forehead. She huffed and turned away from him, curling in on herself. 

 

“Okay, okay.” He conceded, sliding into bed next to her and gathering her in his arms. He used one hand to loosen his tie, and he kicked off his shoes once she made a little sound between a huff and a growl when seeing them. 

 

“Now I’m really going to get sick.” He muttered as she snuggled into his warmth. 

 

She made sure to wipe her nose on his collar for that comment. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

Soft Allura was gone as quickly as she came, and within two weeks the young woman seemed to be healthy once more, devoid of any cough or lingering symptoms. The cuddling session was another thing that they never talked about, added to their list that also included their kiss. Allura bounced into his office, face bright as usual. “Shiro! I need your opinion about something. It will be quick, I promise.” 

 

“Working.” He grumbled, his attention never straying from his computer screen.

 

“Take a quick break. It will be fast, promise. Just need your opinion, pleeeeasseee?” If he had turned and looked at her, he would have been able to see that she had been making her pleading face. However, his gaze didn’t stray an inch from his screen.

 

“I’m working, Allura.”

 

“Real quick? Quick opinion. Afterwards, I won’t bother you.” She tried wheedling. 

 

He sighed, pressing his hands to his desk as he turned in his chair to look at her. “What. What is so important that you need to interrupt my work and constantly burden me?” He snapped, frustrated with the lack of results on his end and her constant disturbance. 

 

Her smile slipped for a fraction of a second before she shrugged. “Nevermind, then. No worries. It’s not really urgent. Go back to work.” She said easily. He eagerly returned his eyes to his screen. After ten minutes, he sighed once more. 

 

“Finished. Okay, now ask me what—“ He turned to his office, but there was no Allura. He figured she had gone back to work, and slightly felt bad about the way he had snapped at her. He could have told her to fuck off in a nicer way, he supposed. He pulled out his phone and texted her, fingers flying across the keyboard. 

 

[Shiro: Hey, what was it that you wanted to ask me?]

 

She answered in a few minutes, the whistle tone alerting him. 

 

[Allura: oh, nothing! i got it figured out.]

 

[Shiro: No seriously, what was it?]

 

[Allura: nothing important, really.]

 

He left it alone after that. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

She swung by for lunch the day afterwards, but she didn’t stay for long. He remembered that she had received a call and had gone off to work only within a few minutes of arriving. He had been forced to eat lunch alone with no call to occupy him, and no gorgeous woman to keep him company. 

 

She texted him to let him know that she wasn’t going to be able to make it to lunch the following day. The fourth day, there was no text. By the eighth day, he was starting to go a little crazy. He was getting awfully tired of looking at the same damn post-it note, and he was staring to get way tired of eating the same damn thing. 

 

On the ninth day, he had enough. If she wasn’t going to come by, then he would go to her. The drive from his building to hers wasn’t long, but it was a bit unfamiliar. He realized, with a pang, that she had been by his office more times than he had been by hers. He waltzed in, saw the look of surprise on the receptionist’s face when he stated that he was there for Allura, and made his way to where she sat. 

 

It was good to see that things didn’t change. She scribbled furiously, and he could start to see the traces of glittery ink starting to form on her hands. That woman. 

 

“Hello, sweetheart.” He said with a roll of his eyes, huffing down at her as he set the two bags carrying Taco Bell (her fast food favorite). She jumped, startled, and tilted her head when she saw him standing in front of her. “What are you doing here? I can’t go out to lunch with you, I have a lot of work.” She said, albeit a bit stiffly.

 

“Yeah, well, thanks for the texts.” He said sarcastically as he walked around her little office space, swiped a rolling chair from the next cubicle over, and pushed it back to her space to sink down next to her. He carefully cleared her desk, neatly pushing the glitter pens back in their little container, sweeping the papers into a neat stack into the corner of the desk. 

 

“We need to get you a bigger desk.” He said with a slight grumble as he gently patted her succulent on its “head”. He turned to the woman sitting next to him, who was looking at him with a mixture of anger and surprise. Knowing that she would eventually spill her feelings, he stayed quiet, digging into his pocket to pull out a little container. He gently took her hands and rubbed some hand sanitizer on them, clearing away any traces of her pen use. 

 

“I’m upset at you.” She said finally, when he was pulling out the nachos. 

 

“Pray tell, why are you upset this time?”

 

“Because you were slightly rude, and I wouldn’t really mind it if it weren’t for this one thing, but I can’t tell you about this one thing because that would mean that I would be breaking a rule.”

 

“Which rule is that?”

 

“Interference in personal matters.” She said, snagging a chip from the bag and neatly dipping it into the little cup of cheese he presented to her. She dangled the chip in front of his mouth, and he had no choice but to open his mouth and let her feed him. He chewed thoughtfully. 

 

“Was it about the thing you needed my opinion on?” He asked once he had swallowed. 

 

“Not exactly the thing itself. More like how you handled the situation.” 

 

He paused, wondering. “Okay, how I handled the situation. Was it the way I snapped at you?”

 

She nodded, so he figured the problem had to be in that area. “Sorry for snapping at you?” He tried.

 

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she gently pushed another cheese-dipped chip into his awaiting mouth. “It’s not the fact that you snapped at me, because, let’s face it, you snap at everyone. It’s what you snapped at me for, and the words you said. Look, I get it. I’m very hyper-active, and sometimes that’s a little too much for someone to stomach. But you don’t need to call me a burden at that time. If I’m really bothering you that much, just take the time to tell me and I’ll wander off and waste my energy somewhere else. I don’t want to be a constant burden, and I don’t want you to think my annoying tendencies are a thing you have to deal with.” She finished, slightly panting from her spiel.

 

“How is that a personal matter?” He asked, crossing his arms. “We didn’t break a rule by discussing that.”

 

“I’m ADHD, you stupid idiot.” She grumbled. “That’s a personal matter. Us talking about it means that you are interfering in my personal matter.”

 

“That’s not true--” He began to protest, but she cut him off swiftly.

 

“Are you seriously going to argue with me whether or not we broke a rule instead of addressing the situation first?”

 

He deflated, glaring, before softening his gaze. “Okay, okay.” He muttered. “I should have been nicer, so I’m sorry for snapping and using those words.”

 

“And I’m sorry for being annoying and bothering you from work.” She said easily, the apology flowing from her lips more naturally than his. 

 

There was an awkward beat between them before Allura reached into her side drawer and fished out a pink post-it note. “Here. I bet you must have gotten tired looking at the same thing everyday.”

 

“I hate these things. Why do they have to be pink?” He grumbled, keeping up the facade that he hated her little doodles.

 

But her keen eyes didn’t miss the way he tucked it into his pocket carefully, as if it were a precious treasure. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

“You look nice.” Shiro said, still wary of asking her where the hell she was planning on going, while looking like that. 

 

She had come in an hour ago, around six in the evening to get ready for something. She had stated her need to use his bathroom, and he had complied, but he hadn’t been ready for her to walk out with her hair curled and her dress tight and gorgeous and playing all sorts of tricks on his mind. 

 

That dress was something else. It was purple, with the neckline teasing, dipping just enough to offer a peak before darting up again once more. The back, on the other hand, was different. While the neckline was subtle, there was virtually no back. The rest of the dress simply accentuated her curves, and her silvery hair made her look simply mystical against the mono-color of her dress. 

 

He was currently watching her carefully apply her eyeliner. She had dusted gold powder on her cheekbones before that, and had gone through different sets of powders, but the eyeliner seemed to be the last item in her makeup repertoire. 

 

“Aaaand, voila! How do I look?” She turned to him, making little jazz hands. 

 

“You look great. What is this for?” He asked bluntly, his hands curling around the desk which he leaned upon. 

 

“I have a date tonight! Something small, blind, obviously. But it’s been so long since I’ve dated anyone, and I want this to go well, y’know?” She smacked her lipstick lined lips (a shade of plum that made him want to kiss her) before turning to grin at him. 

 

Of course, at her words, something ate at him. She was going on a date? With...someone else. In that dress. That...was that even allowed? He forced himself to stay calm and swallow, trying to tamper down the feelings that were rising up in him. “Well, let me know if you need anything.” He said simply, walking around to go sink behind his desk. He opened his laptop and pretended like he was focused on his work before him and not the gorgeous young woman who was currently slipping simple amethyst earrings through her ears. Why was he even so worried? She was the one who wanted to go out and have fun, he shouldn’t even be feeling strongly about this. He was probably just tired. Yes, just tired. 

 

“Okay! Bye Shiro! Wish me luck!” In a burst of excitement,  Allura reached over and pressed a kiss to his cheek before fleeing his office, her heels clicking to enunciate her exit. 

 

All he was left with was the lipstick print on his cheek, the scent of her Chanel perfume in his office, and the thought of her going off with someone else and having a great time while he was stuck here doing his work. 

 

That should have been him.

 

Allura should have been getting ready for him, it should have been him planting the kiss onto her plum-lined lips, it should have been him taking her hand and making it the best date ever.

 

But it wasn’t. He had picked his work and his dreams over that possibility, and now, his Allura was going off with some guy. 

 

With the green jealousy monster sinking in his stomach, he tried to focus on his work in vain and tried not to think about the silver-haired beauty and what she was doing. 

 

**o-o-o**

 

He needed time to recuperate after that. Sure, it was nothing traumatic, but even the fact that her perfume lingered in his office the day after was enough to send him ranting about her date. 

 

He still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that she had gone on a date, a  _ date _ , without him, without  _ him _ being the one taking her out. 

 

And yes, he knew that he was being completely irrational, seeing how he had no claim to her in the first place, and the fact that she was a very independent lady and could do whatever she desired, but for some reason...he was unable to let it go. 

 

So he gave himself a few days. He blew off Allura’s requests for lunch, denied the secretary when she stated that Allura was there to see him, didn’t respond to her texts or calls or anything of the sort. 

 

In retrospect, that might have not been the greatest idea, because by the fourth day of this prolonged ignorance, a spitting mad Allura fumed in front of him. 

 

“What the hell, Shiro?!  What the hell is your problem?! You’re not answering any of my calls, or texts, you don’t want to have lunch with me, and you don’t want to see me? What? What did I do wrong, huh? Just tell me!” She demanded.

 

When she was already upset, he should have been logical enough to try to diffuse the situation, but he only got more irritated. How had she gotten in? He had specifically told Haggar to not let anyone in, especially her. 

 

“It’s nothing. I’ve just been busy with work.” He said, his eyes on his laptop screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard. 

 

“Bullshit. You’ve been busy with work before, and that hasn’t stopped you. There’s something else going on.”

 

“There’s nothing going on.” Again, his eyes never lifted from the screen. 

 

All of a sudden, his screen was being pushed down, with Allura’s fingers nimbly shutting the laptop. “I am talking to you, and a few minutes of your undivided attention will not hurt anyone.”

 

“There is nothing going on, Allura.” He insisted, now extremely irritated that he no longer had the pretense of work to hide behind. 

 

“I’m your soulmate, and I deserve to know what the hell is going on with you.” She hissed, and apparently that was the line for Shiro, who stood up and matched her tone. “No. No, you cannot pull the ‘I am your soulmate’ thing, because that’s one of our rules, and you lost the right to do that when you went out with another guy!” He stated simply, his tone chilly. 

 

Her mouth opened as if on reflex to retort something, but the recognition snapped into her eyes quickly. “You’re jealous.”

 

“No, I’m not.” He fibbed. 

 

“Yeah you are. You were jealous that I went out with someone else, huh?”

 

“No! I’m not breaking a rule. You broke the rule. I’m not--” He was silenced by her walking around his desk and spinning his chair to face her. 

 

“Admit it.” She cajoled. “You were jealous.” 

 

“Yes.” He sighed heavily. “And you called yourself my soulmate.”

 

“You wouldn’t be jealous if I wasn’t your soulmate. Which means…” She blinked at him, waiting for him to piece it together. 

 

“Which means that we have one more rule to break before we’re done with this stupid agreement of just staying friends.” He pronounced the word as if it was a swear word. “Listen, Allura. This has been fun and all, but I can think we can both agree that when we start feeling like this, it just becomes a disaster. I don’t think friends is going to work honestly.”

 

“That’s because you aren’t putting effort into it!” Now she was upset again, and the pitch of her voice had jumped up once more. 

 

“I was wrong, we forgot the clinginess rule, but I think that you just broke it.” He said dryly. “Allura, what the hell are you talking about? Have you seen how tumultuous we are? We’re not even in a relationship, we’re just trying to be friends.” 

 

“We’re this way because you’re lying to yourself. You see yourself getting closer to me, you see your attention shifting to more fulfilling things than work, and then you immediately push yourself away. Oh, but when I’m upset, you can’t stand it, and you immediately chase after me, soothing any worries or concerns. Admit it, Shiro, you’ve fallen for me.” She said, her finger poking against his chest. 

 

“And? So what if I have? Allura, you know why exactly I can’t afford to get distracted.” He said, his tone melting into a helpless one. 

 

Her face softened, and he saw her visibly compose herself by taking a long breath and closing her eyes for a second. Her hand gently rubbed the spot where her nail had poked into him, and when she was calmer, she opened her eyes. 

 

“No, I don’t know. Explain to me. Help me understand your dedication to your work.”

 

“I--” He paused before beginning, but saw her blue orbs, ready to begin to understand and work through this. It gave him the fuel he needed to explain his drive. “I.. am an orphan. People...people didn’t think that I was the best kid for their family, and I...I got bounced around a lot. I always came back to the orphanage there, and there was this one lady...she was my social worker, I think. I’m not quite sure, it’s been a while. But, she used to stay up with me when I did my homework, and she--she always said that I would prove them all wrong. She always said that one day, I would become someone that everyone would look up to, someone that would put everyone else to shame. And I want that to happen. I want to be named as the most successful person, I want to be recognized that I did this by myself, I want her to see that the boy she raised grew up to be someone worthy of her time and efforts.” He said softly, the determination clear in his eyes. 

 

Allura stayed quiet, thinking. Everything, from their first meeting to their first kiss, to their….numerous fights, and she knew what she had to do. 

 

She grabbed his tie, the very one that she had smoothed down just a few moments ago, and in a move eerily similar to the first time, pulled him down to her until their lips met. 

 

This kiss….was different. It was slow and soft, and spoke a message that he wasn’t able to understand until she stepped backwards and smiled at him. 

 

“I’m so, so proud of you.” She murmured softly. “Good luck, Takashi Shirogane.” 

 

He watched as she took a few steps backwards, that same smile still on her lips, before she turned and walked out of his office. 

 

He waited, waited to see if she’d turn back and run back to him, to say that it was a dream, and that any moment he’d be waking up….waking up…

 

But she never did. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> >:)
> 
> let me see how y'all respond to this in the comments, and I'll decide if I want to add a second 10k+ words part to this or not ;)
> 
> catch me on tumblr: @chai-and-coffee
> 
> drop a kudos and leave a comment if you enjoyed


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